Pre-roll is still the prevalent form of video advertising, despite the fact that some consumers still chafe at the thought of watching an ad before their desired video content. All that could change though, with the first set of results from The Pool, the ambitious media research project from Publicis' VivaKi agency.
VivaKi declared that Hulu's Ad Selector -- a model that lets users select the video ads they will see prior to starting a video stream -- is the best model for long-form online video, Adweek reports.
The Ad Selector delivered click-through rates that were 106 percent higher than pre-roll ads, while ad-recall scores were 290 percent higher than pre-roll ads, according to the research. VivaKi researched 29 different ad models over a 16 month period with participation from brands like Allstate, Applebee's, and Capital One, along with online media partners Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL, and Hulu. VivaKi agencies Zenith Optimedia, Starcom MediaVest Group, Digitas, and Razorfish all participated in The Pool as well.
While Hulu's Ad Selector model might be the best, implementing it across the web will not be an easy task. Doing so requires significant changes to site design ad and trafficking, according to Adweek.